1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cartridge which accommodates a shooting film such as a film for photographs therein and is provided with a recording medium, at least an electrically connectable contact for the recording medium being exposed on an outer surface of the cartridge, and a laboratory system for performing each processing of receiving the cartridge, attaching, detaching the shooting film to/from the cartridge for the development, developing the shooting film, and effecting printing on a printing paper based on the images visually developed on the shooting film. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a camera loaded with a cartridge provided with a recording medium and at least an electrically connectable contact for the recording medium exposed on an outer surface of the cartridge, and a photograph processing method for performing each processing of receiving the cartridge, attaching, detaching the shooting film to/from the cartridge for the development, developing the shooting film, printing and exposure on the printing paper based on the image visually developed on the shooting film, and preparing an index print, as well as finally verifying the cartridge, the shooting film, the printing paper, and the index print based on the ID attached thereto, respectively, and returning them to customers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, with the laboratory system, after receiving and developing a shooting film after having taken photographs (hereinafter referred to as a "negative film") requested by a customer, and printing them on a printing paper, the printing paper is developed, and they are put into a DP bag collectively and returned to the customer.
At the time of receiving the shooting film, for example, if it is a printing with film processing or a reordered printing, the number of printing, and if there is any designation of special printing such as trimming or are not conveyed orally to a salesclerk, and the salesclerk writes them in a specified form.
Recently, such a system is established that a magnetic recording layer is provided on the negative film, and the ordered contents are recorded in this magnetic recording layer, thereby the laboratory system can read the information from the magnetic recording layer of the negative film to recognize the requested contents from the customer (Advanced Photo System, i.e., APS).
Hence, the task such as writing the ordered contents at the time of receiving the order can be saved, to improve work efficiency.
Due to the prevalence of personal computers, a digital image is now highlighted, as compared with a so-called analog image recorded on a printing paper or the like. This digital image is easily image-processed, and various original images can be prepared by taking a digital image into a personal computer.
When greeting cards such as New Year cards or the like are prepared and requested to a laboratory system, since the image recorded on the negative film (or a printed image on a printing paper) is an analog image, it has to be read by an image reading apparatus, referred to as a scanner, in order to take it into the personal computer.
However, it is very bothersome to select a desired image from images recorded on an elongated negative film, or to select a desired image from separate printing papers for each image.
Incidentally, with the above-mentioned APS, an index print is handed over to customers at the time of returning the printing with film processing. Customers can see images arranged in a matrix on this index print to select desired images at the time of reordering.
Since this index print is processed as the digital image in the laboratory system, if this digital image data can be provided to the customer, the above-mentioned equipment such as scanner is not necessary.
However, if a recording medium where the index image data is recorded is given to customers in addition to the cartridge and the index print, customers will have to homologize not only the cartridge and the index print, but also the recording medium and the cartridge.
A cartridge to which an IC memory is attached has been proposed (for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 2,602,583 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 4-223455), Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 1-279250, and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open (JP-U) No. 2-5746).
The information in the IC memory is read in the laboratory system, and used as the information at the time of printing. That is to say, the IC memory has a function corresponding to the magnetic recording layer of APS, and serves only as the information transfer means between customers and the laboratory system. There is no suggestion that customers can read the information freely, process it and write into it.
Moreover, some types of cameras have a mechanism for selecting panorama printing (P), classic printing (C) or vigorous vision (H) at the time of shooting with this camera, and this mechanism is also attached to a one-time use camera which is a cheap camera (for example, "Utsurundesu" produced by Fuji PHOTO Film, CO., LTD hereinafter referred to as "LF"). However, this is to be optically attached outside of the image recording area of the film, and it is not for recording the information on the magnetic recording layer.
That is to say, in order to mount a mechanism for magnetically recording on the magnetic recording layer in a camera, a magnetic head, a circuit for controlling the magnetic head, and a feeding mechanism for feeding the film stably are required, thus the camera becomes considerably expensive. Therefore, with the so-called cheap camera, only the optical information can be recorded, and the data volume becomes only 2 to 3 bits, hence it is limited to only very small data.
It can be understood that the IC memory of the cartridge to which the above-mentioned IC memory is attached is read on the laboratory system side and used as the information at the time of printing, but the information recorded by the camera and the processing method on the laboratory system side based on the information is fragmentary, and a system corresponding to various orders has not yet been established.